The Return of Lost Memories
by ReaperofNameless
Summary: She was drunk, sorrowful, coasting through a lost and miserable existence...until he came along, and told her the story of her long lost friend. Rated T for language and possible suggestive themes.
1. The Strange Entrance

**A/N: Hey, guys! I'm currently working on the next Demeter chapter, but I'm taking a break at the moment, so I decided to get a nice start on the FLCL fic while you guys wait!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FLCL. I do own Dan and Leon though, and at the moment that's good enough for me!**

**Have fun reading the chapter! **

**Chapter One: The Strange Entrance**

There's a lonely bar sitting out in the desert, miles from any kind of civilization. It's only company is a thin dirt road, and many sand dunes for miles around. It was one of those places that could only be described as "seedy." It's customers mostly consisted of those who were either avoiding the law or simply looking for trouble. The only people who normally visit the place would either be hardened and weary travelers or criminals hiding from the authorities.

Most of the time, if you had ever been unfortunate enough to have visited the condemned place more than once, you almost never see the same customers twice. In fact, the place only ever had one regular, who just so happened to be visiting the bar today, as she had always done every other day, at the times when the bar seemed to be at its emptiest, for she preferred her privacy.

The bell hanging at the top of the doorway jingled as the door opened, as the young-looking woman with spiky bubblegum-pink hair and yellow eyes, which gave her an aged look, walked in. She was wearing a faded yellow coat and her once brightly colored hair was faded as well, mostly due to the sand outside.

She seemed exceptionally depressed, as she had done every day, and she was the one person who ever garnered any pity from any person in the bar; and that person was Dan, the bartender and owner of Dan's Drinks. He was perhaps the only person who knew anything about her and was probably her only friend. He had always been overly protective of her, being the only person who cared for her at all.

Personally, the woman had always wondered why he even gave a rat's ass. After all, she certainly didn't care for _herself_ at all, even. True, there was once a time when she actually looked out for number one, when she could vaguely remember actually having some kind of purpose; she remembered that she used to be a strong, willful person, who would go to any lengths to get what she wanted.

And she knew exactly what she wanted: power, and lots of it. She had spent many years searching for a great source of energy; a being of god-like power. The only thing she could remember about that being was its name.

Atomsk.

It had been a long time since she had last heard it. She remembered searching far and wide for it until she was eventually led to a back-water land in which it was being held captive by her only other enemy, whose name is yet another thing she still remembered with any kind of clarity, and that was Medical Mechanica. She knew that she wouldn't hesitate to destroy anyone or anything that got in her way, though she also remembered that MM was different…she hated them with a passion, though she can't exactly remember why.

She knew that she met someone in her search for Atomsk in that backwater place…a friend, or, perhaps, a lover? It was hard to tell any more. In any case, she felt a great feeling of loss, and was it guilt(?) at leaving that person behind.

Then, without warning, the Atomsk was gone, and she was never able to find him again. She eventually gave up searching after too many dead ends, and upon learning the relatively shorter life spans of the backwater people, became depressed at the idea that she wouldn't even meet _him_ again. So she drowned it all in hard liquor, until she began to simply forget. Now it's all but a faint ghost of a memory and the only emotion that exists is sorrow at how weak she is. _I used to be somebody, _she thought to herself. _And what am I now? A quitter, a bloated whore who wallows in self-pity for something I can never regain nor forget…Why do I even bother?_

It was only Dan who ever gave her any consolation, who was the only person she might ever conceive as something at least close to a friend. At least he gave her a discount on all drinks and gave her a private booth in which to drink herself to sleep.

She walked up to Dan, saying, "Hey, D. The usual, please." Dan nodded empathetically, and somewhat sorrowfully. He pointed to her usual spot and handed her the keycard. "It's all ready for you. Try to go easy on yourself this time, okay?" Though he already knew that she wouldn't really listen to his pleading. The woman somewhat nodded and added a non-committal "Sure, whatever," before heading towards the closed door of the booth.

Upon her approach of the door, she slid the keycard into the lock and when the door closed and locked behind her, she sat down at the table. Once her rear touched the somewhat comfortable cushion of the seat, a recess in the wall opened and a tray carrying a bottle and shot glass entered the booth, which she immediately began pouring for herself.

After only a few drinks, it didn't take long for her surly mood to once again mature into the dark pit in her stomach. This happened every time she first got a buzz. She just knew that in another few drinks her depression would return, and soon after that she would begin crying herself to sleep. A few hours after that, Dan would use his keycard to enter the booth, wake her, and give her a bit of the sobering serum, after which he would console her and give her a ride home.

This was her thing. She would do this during every visit. After the sobering serum, she would head home, where the memories would return to haunt her in her dreams…

She looked out of the window. She saw something flying in the distance. Funny, they didn't usually get birds this deep in the dessert. Then, as the thing grew closer, she began to notice something odd. First, it was too big to be a bird…a ship? Secondly, the closer the thing got, the more the sand began to rise. She knew that if it got any higher, the conjunction of wind and sand would cause a storm, and then Dan would put the place into lockdown. God, as if she didn't need anything else on her mind.

But that was nothing compared to the third weird thing emanating from the flying object. When it got within hearing range, not only did she hear an engine, thus confirming it to be some kind of craft (though it was odd to see one so small), but she began to hear the something that she knew her ears had not been exposed to since before she had started drinking (whenever the hell that was).

Music. Or, more specifically, the sound of an old bass guitar.

Though she knew that she had heard many musical instruments in her pre-drinking time, there was something about this particular sound that seemed….familiar to her. _But why though?_ she wondered to herself.

It was at this point that the music had reached a point where it was almost deafening, and the wind from the craft had stirred up a wall of sand, and the craft took a dive, though not altering its course…it was falling straight towards the bar. Then the intercom in the booth sounded, "Hey, I'm going to put the bar into lockdown, before the dust storm gets here. Alright?"

Knowing that Dan was talking to her, because no one else was here in the lonely bar today, she said, "Yeah, sure." Out in the public part of the bar, Dan mashed the large button next to the back door, which caused the huge protective metal shutters to close themselves on the inside of the windows and doors.

Just in time too it seemed, for within seconds, a deep rumbling was heard throughout the bar as it was assaulted from the outside by high-rushing winds and sand. As if to add to this noise, the bass guitar music grew louder and louder, and the woman began to suspect that the craft was getting closer and closer, a theory which was supported by the growing whine of the engine.

Remembering the descent of the approaching vehicle before the shutters closed, the heart of the tipsy woman began to become filled with fear. What if the craft crashed into the bar and killed both her and Dan? However, before her mind could make her act on these thoughts, a loud explosion sounded throughout the bar, followed by the collective sounds of breaking glass, which suggested that the windows and the glass in the door had been shattered.

The shockwave knocked out the lights and general power, and the rumbling of the wind continued to be heard. After a few minutes however, the wind began to calm down, sort of, and the backup generators kicked in to turn on the lights.

Dan and the woman stood/sat in their respective rooms in the bar, in terrified silence. It seemed that their minds were wiped blank, and were totally devoid of any thought. Then, something happened that made them both jump. As the wind finally died down, three knocks sounded against the metal shutters of the door.

Silence. Neither person dared to make a move. Then, another three knocks sounded, this time accompanied by a muffled shout, "Hey, open up, will you?" It was then that some semblance of thought came to the brain of Dan, who typed something into the lockdown console, so that only the door's shutters would open. Once open, the front of the bar was filled with sand and dust which clouded up (prompting Dan cover his mouth with a cleaning cloth), as the silhouette of a man opened and walked through the doorway.

The bell jingled twice with each swing of the door.

The woman was watching through the view screen next to her door to see what was going on. The man (if the person was, indeed, male) was wearing a suit of simple, but protective black leather, black combat boots, black gloves, and a somewhat spherical black helmet with a silver shutter on the front of it. It looked as though someone had put a goldfish bowl over his head and painted it black. Slung on his back was a long leather case. As to what was in the case was a mystery.

The man said to Dan, in a muffled voice, "You might want to reactivate the door shutters before more dust clouds in." Dan nodded in agreement, and once again lowered the shutters on the door. The man sat down at a stool in front of the bar, and opened the silver shutter on the front of his helmet. His voice sounded through the helmet again, this time much more clearer though. "Thanks," he said in a gravelly electronic voice, which suggested that he was speaking through a helmet speaker and microphone.

Dan asked, "What the hell happened out there? Did you see?" The man nodded, answering, "Yeah, that was me. Sorry about the windows. Landed a little harder than I had meant to." The man reached into his pockets and pulled out a small bag. He opened the bag and pulled out a CP (Credit Pad), dialed something in it, and handed it to Dan.

Dan took it, and gave the man a questioning look. The man answered the unspoken question by saying, "It's to pay for the windows I broke, as well as paying for a drink." Dan nodded, thinking to himself that the sooner he served the man the sooner the man would leave. He got a bottle and poured a shot glass for the man. When Dan got ready to put the bottle back, the man held up his hand. "Could you leave the bottle, please?" Dan nodded.

The man took a pouch out of his shirt pocket and connected an attached plastic cord to a hole on his helmet. Once attached to his helmet, the man proceeded to pour the drink into the bag. Once the man finished the bottle (which was an extremely long ten minutes to Dan…he guessed the man wasn't a heavy drinker), Dan had hoped the man would leave; in fact, he was just about to use the lockdown console to open the door for him.

It was at this point that the woman had turned off her view screen and went back to drinking, believing it to be over. Unfortunately, to Dan's dismay, the man spoke.

"You think you could help me with something?" _Anything_ _to get you out of here quicker,_ thought Dan, who nodded and said aloud, "Sure, what do you need?" The man answered, "I'm looking for someone. A friend. My last sources told me that they were in the area. Here, I've got a picture of her." The man opened a pocket on his chest after putting away the pouch and cord and pulled out a folded picture, which was pinned shut by a small badge with tiny black lettering which read, "_Galactic Space Police Brotherhood, Rank: Officer._"

That got Dan's attention real quick. _Shit, he's one of the GSP!_ The part of the picture that wasn't folded over with the badge showed a young woman wearing goggles on her head, a sleeveless orange sweater, and holding a blue bass guitar. But what struck Dan most about the woman in the picture was her spiky bubble-gum pink hair, which stood out against the gray skies in the picture, and her live, vibrant yellow eyes. Their was something about this woman that Dan found strikingly familiar. In fact, she almost looked like--

….Shit.

Wishing to protect his friend in the booth, the Dan asked, "Why? Is she in trouble?" The man cocked his head for a second, and asked, "Huh? What do you--" The black sphere looked downwards towards the badge pinning the picture. Humor was etched in his voice as the man's electronic voice laughed.

"Oh! No, no, don't worry, I'm not GSP. At least, not anymore. I quit them a long time ago. In fact, this woman was actually an old coworker of mine, whom I haven't seen in a long time. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt her; I just want to talk." Dan's face softened slightly, but that didn't make him trust the man any more than he did. After all, the man could just as easily be lying.

"And if I don't know anything?" Dan asked as nonchalantly as he possibly could, which meant he didn't pull it off very well. The man could tell that Dan was trying to get him to leave, but that didn't seem to put a dent in his resolve whatsoever. The man simply said, "Then I'll _make _tell me the truth. I've come a very long way to talk to my friend, I'm not about to let you stop me."

The man said this all extremely calmly, making Dan thoroughly spooked. There was something about this man which left no doubt in his mind that if the man really wanted to, he could force the woman's whereabouts out of Dan as easily as he could breathe. However, Dan had hung around with the criminal underworld long enough to be able to tell when someone was trustworthy or not, and he could tell that the man wasn't lying, though he could still sense some dishonesty, as though the man wasn't telling the whole truth.

Dan deliberated for a moment, then decided, that if nothing else, he could blow a hole in his head if he tried anything. He fingered the shotgun under the counter at these thoughts. Then, after making his decision, Dan brought his loaded shotgun up over the counter where the man could see it, and set it down. He said, "I'll be watching the cameras. If you do anything funny, anything that could possibly threaten her safety, I won't hesitate to kill you. Understand?"

The man nodded. Dan took out his copy of the private booth's keycard, and handed it to the man, knowing full well that he was placing the woman's fate in his hands. The man took the card, saying, "Thank you. I won't forget this. Know now that your trust has _not _been misplaced." Dan said nothing, but simply picked up his shotgun and walked up to the woman's booth, pointing at the door. The man nodded, and walked in front of the door.

Before sliding the keycard through the lock, the man turned to Dan and said, "One more thing, this is a private conversation. I don't mind you watching the cameras, but I would prefer it if you didn't monitor the audio, please. Also, if you don't mind, could you please serve us some water? I have a feeling that we'll be here for awhile.

"Also, a question comes to mind: how drunk is she at this moment?" Dan, who was surprised and a bit flustered by the question, answered, "I honestly don't know. If she's still been drinking since she got here, I'd say pretty drunk." The man said, "I'm going to need her sober. Would you mind mixing some of the serum in her water, please?"

Before Dan could answer, the man slid the keycard into the lock, causing the door to fly open. As the man walked in, the door closed and locked behind him, and the indignant woman cried drunkenly, "Hey! Do you mind!? This here's a private booth!" Her words were slurred. The man sat down and the tray came out, carrying two glassed of water, one with a purple mist flowing inside it.

"What? Water?" The woman stared at the two glasses confusedly. The man took the two glasses and set them down on the table, with the purple one in front of her. "Drink it," he commanded. "You're no good to me drunk," he added harshly.

When the woman looked as though she would refuse, the man said, "I'll leave if you do it." The woman's yellow eyes stared drunkenly at him, then at he glass, then at him again. Then, she shrugged, and gulped down the mixture.

After swallowing it, she hacked and coughed several times, and looked as though she might be sick. However, she soon recovered, and then looked at the man strangely, as if seeing him for the first time. "Who are you," she demanded, "and why are you in my _private booth_?"

The man was silent for a moment before speaking. "My name is Kaze," he said, "and I am in your booth because I have spent a very long time trying to find you." The woman was annoyed enough as it was by this intruder, but she was curious enough to ask confusedly, "Me? Why me?" Kaze said, "You used to work for the GSP, no?" There was no emotion in his voice, or in the black helmet which covered it.

The woman sighed. She should have known. "They still have that bounty on my head, do they? Is that why you're here? Or are you one of _their_ cronies, come to arrest me?" Kaze shook his head, saying, "Neither. While it is true that I once was one of their puppets, I quit before they could gain complete control over me. Just like you."

The woman said, "And how do you know who I am?" Kaze said, "Weren't you paying attention? I used to work for the GSP as well. But even if I didn't I'd still know of you wherever I went. You are pretty infamous among most civilized worlds. I even have a list of some of your aliases, including your real name, if I'm not mistaken."

The woman gestured for him to go on, so Kaze complied. "Krista Firstar, Shaiira Langley, Soryu Sakura, Haruhara Haruko, and finally Haruhara Raharu. The last two names were given to me by a friend of mine, who has met you once. In fact, it is by his request that I come to find you at all in the first place. He said you were once a friend of his."

The woman looked back at him, shocked. Not only had her real name been in that list, but one of those names she knew that she had only ever used once, on a certain backwater planet, during her search for Atomsk. It was at that point when the memories returned to her in full force. She did not cry out, but she did look away from the man called Kaze, so that he couldn't see her tears. Through her crying, she managed to mumble that her preferred name was the second to last one on that list, the alias which she had used on Earth; Haruko Haruhara.

Kaze waited patiently for her to speak. Finally, once the tears stopped flowing, she asked Kaze, "So…who's that friend of yours who asked you to find me?" Kaze took out the picture from his pocket and unpinned the badge so he could unfold it. The picture showed Haruko's arm hanging around a the shoulder of a young boy in a blue jacket far too big for him, with shaggy brown hair and dull blue eyes.

Upon seeing the boy, she gasped. This was the one she met on that backwater planet. This was her tool, her weapon, her friend…her love. Her silent tears returned. Kaze said, "You recognize him? He was the N.O. channeler you used in your attempts to find Atomsk, who was being held captive by Medical Mechanica at the time. You tricked him and his father into allowing you to becoming their live-in maid, so that you may be closer to him. You quickly befriended him, but unfortunately he fell in love with you, while you did not reciprocate his feelings. And then, when Atomsk was gone, and all was said and done, you left him behind to rot on his own boring world…"

"No…Ta-kun…I only wanted him to be safe…" was all Haruko could whisper in response, her tears continuing to flow. "He…_Noata_ hated to be called that, you know," Kaze added cruelly in a monotonic voice before saying, "But of course, his love for you was too great, and it wasn't long before he found a way to leave his planet in search of you…using the only connection to you that he had left in his possession."

Haruko looked up sharply at this. Could it be possible? She recalled the time when she returned to that place on Earth, and his father, now old, told her that he was `gone`. "How?" she asked. Leon replied, "Recall that before you left, you took the hybrid guitar that was his Gibson Flying V and Atomsk's EB-0. However, you left him your Rickenbacker. Using some knowledge gained from past experience, plus his extremely powerful N.O. channel, and he soon found a way to fashion a small starship out of it."

Haruko was in awe at her little Ta-kun's cunning. It was one of the things she loved about him. Well, that, and the ease with which she could make him blush in embarrassment. Just the thought of that brought her to smile at that memory. However, her attention was caught by Kaze when he unsung the long leather case from his back and unzipped it.

Upon opening it, Haruko gasped at seeing her old Rickenbacker again for the first time in years. Thought there were obvious alterations to it, such as a small amount of machinery poking out of the back, next the draw-string motor she used to make it fly, she recognized it almost immediately. Then, she picked it up and turned it over to look at it on the strings side, only to see a word, no, a name written near the strings in cursive, in black acrylic ink.

"_Haruka?_" Haruko inquired at the name. Kaze explained, "Like how a pilot names his ship, he named the guitar after you. Unless you say otherwise, I have honored his wishes and allowed the name, _The Haruka_ to remain." Haruko, who was deeply touched at Noata's obvious affection for, nodded.

"So where is he? Obviously, if you knew him, he had Earth, just as you said. Why didn't you tell him where to find me, since you knew to look here? Hell, why didn't he look for me himself, instead of sending you?" she asked, a twinge of disappointment in her voice. He replied in a regretful tone, "Actually, he probably would be here himself today…but, unfortunately, he is…KIA."

This time Haruko _did_ cry out. _My Ta-kun…dead? No…NO!!! I don't believe it! I _won't _believe it!_ Haruko slumped over onto the desk, her face hidden. She sobbed. "No…Noata…No…" It took her a long time to quiet herself, but Kaze said nothing to comfort or console her. He simply stood there and watched.

Eventually, she calmed down enough to ask, "How? Why?" Kaze said, "Are you sure you want me to tell you? It's quite a long story." Haruko nodded. "I must know."

Kaze nodded. "Very well. I shall tell you the story. I will start from the beginning, from a place you know very well. It was three years after you left him behind on Earth." Haruko's tears flowed even more at that memory.

______________________________________________________________

**A/N:** Okay, that's the first chapter, folks! So, what d'you think? A little different from my regular work, eh? Anyway, like I said, this if a story that's been in my head even longer than my novel has, so I decided that I would pay homage to it while it still remains in my head.

Noata fan girls: NOOO!!! You killed our Noata!!!

Me: Whoa, relax, girls! It's just a story, after all!

Fan girls: *turns mutinous, and pulls out torches, pitchforks, and clubs*

Me: Meep. *runs away from angry mob*


	2. The Beginning of the Story of Honesty

**A/N: **Hey guys, I'm back again! Just to let you know, I figured I'd get a head start on this fan fic while I'm waiting for my father to add my new notebook to his wireless network, so if you've noticed that I've been silent on the days of July 11th and 12th, that would be why.

I would also like to point out that for most of the fic, the story will be told in first person point of view, as of course Kaze is the one telling the story of the past, so I think it only appropriate that it be told from his perspective, even though it starts before he met Noata…but more on that later.

For now, here's the disclaimer: I do not own FLCL, as that property is currently held by Gainax, who also is the creator/owner of my other favorite anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion.

So let us begin!

(Side note: For those of you who are fans of the OVA, tell me if you recognize what 'Honesty' is referring to in the chapter title. ;-)

**Chapter Two: The Beginning of the Story of Honesty**

At first, he was content to let things go on as normal. He'd go to school, hang out with his friends, and generally did nothing. After all, he did believe, truly believe that you would come back again. And every time he began to have his own doubts, he would always bring up the last words you said to him.

"Save it till next time." _Next time._ That meant that you would indeed come back. However, after a single Earth year of waiting, he began to realize that he might never see you again, and it was that realization that ate him up from the inside out.

Even his own friends and family couldn't do anything to fill the growing void in his heart, the void caused by your absence. That entire month spent with you changed his life forever, and he slowly began to realize that it wasn't just pain from lost love that threatened his existence.

It was the startling truth that without you, he would sink into the slow, quiet and monotonous lifestyle that he had learned to despise while living in the town of Mabase, and he had the sneaking suspicion that such a thing was inescapable as long as he lived on his planet.

That is, until his thirteenth birthday, when he made a rather interesting discovery: his N.O. Channel was still active, after an entire year since the month which he began to refer to as the 'Atomsk Incident.' He learned this shortly after Canti, the MM robot you two befriended, left to live on his own, building himself a new home out of discarded machines and computers found at his local landfill., after which he began living as the local 'Robot Hermit.'

He never got a single bad grade again, and even skipped a few grades, eventually graduating college early at the age of sixteen. Many hailed him as a genius, though he eventually discovered that it was no true genius of his own, but simply because he was able to subconsciously use his N.O. Channel to borrow the knowledge of others, sucking their intelligence straight from other parts of the planet.

He used this new-found power, he was able to learn that you were still out there, alive; and though you still hadn't returned, he believed that you might still recognize him, and welcome the sight of him. Though his family and friends knew what he was planning, they didn't approve of him suddenly leaving them on a wild-goose chase to find a girl who probably doesn't even care about him anymore. However, due to humanity's notorious lack of adequate space-faring technology, they did nothing to stop him, for they thought that even with his N.O. Channel and new-found 'genius,' he still wouldn't be able to get very far away from that old rock.

And for awhile, he feared that they may be right. He would often stare out into the night sky, guitar in hand, and wonder just where you are, and how he could ever think that he would be able to have the means to find you, after which he would steel his resolve and utter his promise into the night air, "Someday, I will find you again, Haruko…I promise."

It had once occurred to him to raid the old MM plant for some inspiration, but he could not recognize any of the things he saw, and he dared not to extend his N.O. Channel off-world for answers, lest he over-work himself. For as his mind grew up, it added more and more limitations to the limitless imaginative reality he had once conjured for himself as a small child.

His friends and family, began to worry for his new depression especially his father and Mamimi, who came to visit him every once a week. His brother he no longer spoke to after the way he had abandoned Mamimi, and his concept of maturity began to change, for he believed that if to grow up was to become like Tasuku, he didn't want a single part of it. However, due to his past five years of the time, due to puberty, he now knew what it was to grow up, now that he had come closer to it, and he didn't care for it one bit.

In fact, I remember he told me of a time when his brother and his girlfriend came to visit from a country called America. It was then that he first realized that he hated his brother. I remember he said that it was very quiet. I could tell from his description of his life, that he always remembered his memories of Earth before his journey very vividly, with every little detail intact. The dinner was extremely quiet; his father and grandfather, instead of acting like their normal care-free and odd selves, were strangely quiet, and no words were shared among the party of five.

It was eventually Tasuku's girlfriend, whose name neither myself nor Naota could remember very well, who broke the awkward silence. "So," says the girl, in broken Japanese, "Ta-kun here says that you aspired to be a baseball player like him, Nao-kun. Is that true?" However, before Naota could answer, Tasuku said, "Yeah, but if I remember correctly, he never could swing the bat, huh, little squirt?"

Naota replied, "Maybe, a long time ago…but not anymore. Not since Haruko…" His father and grandfather had winced at the sound of her name. Though Naota never kept his sorrowful ambitions secret, he hardly ever mentioned your name. I assume that it was a touchy subject in the Nandaba household.

Tasuku said, "Who's that? Your girlfriend?" Naota answered, "She lived here, not long after you moved away and abandoned Mamimi for _her_." He jutted his chin in the direction of the blonde woman, who honestly had no idea what was going on. The woman narrowed her eyes and asked Tasuku, "What's he talking about, Ta-kun? Who is this Mamimi?" Naota answered for him.

"Didn't he ever tell you that he had a girlfriend before he left Japan for America? A girlfriend who waited weeks upon weeks for him to call, until I ended up having to tell her after he sent me the postcard? How she made me her replacement for him, even going so far as calling me by _his_ nickname, because he was never there for her?" At this, Ta-kun stood up angrily, saying, "I'm sure you would know all about that, huh, squirt? After all, I bet this _Haruko_ left for the same reason I did; because she was sick and tired of having to baby-sit you!"

At this, Naota had yelled and stood up, swinging your guitar, which he normally held so proudly at his brother's head. The blonde woman had screamed, and Tasuku was holding his bleeding forehead, muttering dark curses at Naota. Kamon and his father looked on quietly, though now with more of an edge to them.

"HOW DARE YOU," shouted Naota, "YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Naota raised his guitar again, but stopped to briefly look down to see a distinct absence of red light in Tasuku's head. He laughed. "Well, no wonder you're so full of shit, Ta," said Nao, "I mean, even Amarao's N.O. was bigger than yours, and he couldn't conjure anything bigger than a slingshot!" Tasuku, not knowing what he meant by N.O., or who this Amarao was, though knew well enough to take it as an insult, gritted his teeth, and said, "Then tell me, if your precious Haruko cared so much for you, then why'd she leave?"

At this, Naota said in a quiet tone, "Don't pretend to act as though you know her, filth. You, a primitive monkey, aren't even fit to lick her boots clean." At his tone of voice, there was silence (mostly at Naota calling him a 'primitive monkey, which, even though the others were probably unaware of this at the time, is supposed to be discriminatory language used against under-developed planets), at which he sighed and returned to his room. He locked the door behind him, and sobbed softly into his pillow, after which he began to strum a few notes on the Rickenbacker, deriving some comfort from it.

He thought to himself, 'Maybe he's right. I mean after all, what's the chances of her ever coming back. I mean, it's not like I can just fly away on the _guitar_ to search for her…' At this thought, however, he recalled a battle against one of the MM robots which came out of his head through the N.O. channel, in which you had flown in on your guitar to save the day.

That made him wonder; what if he could somehow make the guitar fit for space-travel? It'd be worth a shot, and after all, what did he have to lose? Just time, and that was something he had plenty of. A job? He already worked for his father as a bread courier and as an author, writing about his personal experiences with the N.O. (Classified among the general public and government as 'Science Fiction,' of course). Sure, why not? He already knew that he would give anything just to see you again. However, he knew that in order to construct what he wanted, out of technology he knew nothing about, mind you, he would need help.

And he knew just who to ask.

He fell asleep smiling.

* * * *

The next morning, well he had it all planned out. He got up, brushed his teeth, got dressed, and headed down to breakfast, like he usually did. His brother and father were at the table. There was mutual silence between the two brothers. Ignoring Tasuku as though he weren't present, Nao-kun sat down at the table, and said to Kamon, "Morning dad, what's for breakfast?" Kamon replied, "Just, uh, eggs and bacon, Naota-kun." Kamon looked apprehensive, as though he were afraid that Naota would blow up again like he did last night.

Naota nodded, with a grunt, and began eating. After a few bites, he said, "Dad, I've gotta be off work for awhile, is that alright?" Kamon said, "Sure, you've got as much time as you need. Why, is it another writing project?" Naota replied, "Something like that. I do expect to be working on a big project, but it's not literary, if that's what you mean." Kamon asked, "What're you working on?" Naota smirked, saying, "It's a surprise. Anyways, I've gotta head over to Canti's. I'm planning on asking him for help."

Kamon said, "TV Boy? Well, that's nice. Tell him I said hi, okay, Naota-kun?" Naota headed out the door, saying, "Sure, Dad," with a smile. It didn't take long for him to find it, for Canti's home had grown quite a lot over the last few years, becoming a veritable mountain of assorted pieces of technology, complete with its own cave near the summit, which was where Canti 'lived'.

When Naota reached the cave, he saw no one. "Canti! Canti? Come on out, I need you for a second," he called. Almost immediately, though Canti did not appear himself, a booming voice was heard throughout the cave. "WHAT DO YOU WHAT, YOU PATHETIC LITTLE CREATURE? WHAT MAKES YOU DARE TO ENTER MY DOMAIN?"

Naota, standing his ground, said, "It's me, Canti. It's Naota. I need your help with something." Eventually, the assorted electronic gadgets etc. began to move aside, shifting so that a body hanging on the walls could be pushed into view. The familiar blue screen of the robot's face turned on. A single word flashed upon the screen:

_Naota?_

The robot dropped from the wall and engulfed the boy in a gut-wrenching hug. Naota-kun was able to throw off Canti and patted his shoulder. "It's good to see you too, Canti. So, uh, what's with the big voice in the walls?"

The robot's screen flashed the query, _Why, do you like it? I use it to keep my privacy. You wouldn't believe the rumors that kids spread around, about a "monster living in the techno-mountain." Now, I've rarely been getting any peace and quiet, what with the children daring each other to come up here. The voice is pretty good for scaring them away, though. Only…too bad that it's not MY voice. I have supreme control over everything that makes up this mountain, as long as I remain connected to it, and yet I have no way to give a voice to the body you see before you. If I could, I would sigh…_

Naota, who could see that this was bothering Canti, though he couldn't quite understand what he would have to say with a voice that he couldn't with his screen, nodded empathetically and said, "Yeah, I guess that would be pretty tough. So, how've you been lately, Canti?"

Canti replied, _Pretty good. It's been awhile since your last visit. Too long. Why has it taken so long for you to visit me again?_ Naota hung his head guiltily and answered, "Sorry, Canti. I guess I've just been having a lot of stuff on my mind." Canti flashed, _It's alright. I understand. I mean, even I still am having a hard time forgetting her. _

Slightly taken aback by Canti's mention of you, he said, "Actually, that's kind of why I'm here, Canti. I have an idea about how to go about following her, and I need your help." Canti's head looked straight at Naota, asking, _Are you serious?_ Naota nodded. "I need some supplies in order to make what will quite possibly be the smallest starship you've ever seen."

A/N: And I'm gonna end this chapter here, guys. I've found at least three readers for this new story in the last couple of days, which is awesome, I've gotta say.

So remember, keep reading, keep reviewing, and keep touching the monolith at

--Reaper


	3. The Search for the Parts

A/N: Hey, guys, it's me, Reaper. I'm going to skip straight to the story for now, so it's time for me to appease my readers, and get on with this chapter. But first, the disclaimer: I do not own FLCL, nor do I think I ever will. Though I will continue to view it with as much respect as any devoted fan, which is why I continue with this fanfic.

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**Chapter Three: The Search for the Parts**

Canti nodded and said, _What did you have in mind?_Naota, excited that Canti had agreed to help him, hurriedly said, "You remember that giant gun-wielding robot that came out of my head the week before you and Haruko left for a month or so, and she flew in on the guitar to fight it? Well, if you can make it fast enough, and able to supply me with air like Haruko's vespa, I plan on riding on it."

Canti recoiled and said_, Are you insane!? How in the world do you plan on fitting the parts in such a small object? And another thing, where do you plan on getting them_? Naota said, "Well, maybe could strip the parts down to smaller pieces. And as for getting them, I've figured out a way to get inside the MM plant, though I wouldn't know my ass from my elbow in terms of the stuff I've seen. Which is what I'd like your help for." Canti said, _Right, but do you really think you're going to find something that'll fit in the guitar? I mean, why even use the guitar in the first place?_

Naota said without a thought, "It's symbolic. Haruko never really seemed to have a reason for doing things the way she did; I'd be a fool to break that trend now. No, I'm kidding. I don't know, I guess I just want to do something unorthodox for once." Canti said, _You're not going to change your mind, are you?_Naota replied, "I've got to try, at least.."

Canti slumped his shoulders and shook his head, his robotic equivalent of a sigh. _Fine, whatever. I'll help you, because I think Haruko would probably like to see you again, and only if you can get me something in return. _"What?" asked Naota. Canti said, _There should be a voice modulator system that can be found inside the Medical Mechanicca plant. If you help me find one, then I'll help you with your little space project._

At this, Naota grinned. "Deal." Canti gave him a bone-crushing handshake.

* * * *

Some time later, Canti met Naota at the desired location near the impenetrable walls of the plant that was shaped like an iron. The walls were thick, and as hard as granite. One would normally wonder how any could gain access to such a place. In fact, it was Canti who voiced that question. _So how did you manage to get in in the first place?_

Naota simply answered by opening his N.O. channel, causing the familiar symbol to appear on his forehead. Within minutes, entire sections of the wall disappeared from existence, and they were faced with a hole in the wall. "If you're wondering where it all goes: I send it all to the moon. Makes it easier for me to retireve so I can fix it and get out without anyone getting too suspicious."

They walked inside, and they found themselves in a dark blue hallway. Naota then turns to Canti, and asks, "Okay, Canti. Now, this is your turf. What do I do now? What do we need to get?" Canti struck a thoughtful pose, then flashed the message, _First we'll need to get a mini nuclear battery, then an atmosphere generator, as well as an engine. I have pictures of each, as well as a picture of a voice modulator. You can pull these through your N.O. channel and send them outside as you go along. I've also go a map if you need one._ Canti was printing papers out of the back of his head as he said this.

Naota took these papers, took a marker from his pocket, and said, "Which parts of this map do I mark?" As Canti points to each spot, Naota circles them, also making sure to place an 'X' where they are. "Okay, I'll look for the engine and atmosphere generator, since they seem to be close to one another, you pick up the voice mod and nuclear battery. Canti simply nodded as they went their seperate ways to look for the parts they needed.

Naota headed to his left and down the hallway, where he reached an elevator. The buttons weren't marked in Japanese, but he was able to figure out by counting that they represented floor numbers. after counting the number of floors he would have to go up to reach the hangar, he pushed the button and waited.

After about a minute the elevator stopped, and he found himself walking into a very large indigo room, filled with very large metal behemoths that he could only assume to be ships. After taking a look at his map, and the pictures inside of it, he learned that he was right. So all he had to do was raid one of these things and find the engine and atmosphere generating device.

But how to get in? He supposed that he could always just use his N.O. channel to pull the door off, or use his other N.O. powers to otherwise get in. However, he didn't know whether there were any sentries left, and he thought that a bright light would probably be quite a bit conspicuous. "Ah, screw it," he said, and he used his powers to wrench a section of wall off the ship...just before finding that there was a perfectly good door right next to it, causing him to sweatdrop heavily.

Nonetheless, he chose to walk through the hole in the wall. As he looked inside, he saw entire rooms and hallways devoted entirely to housing equipment that he could neither recognize nor understand. He found that the ship had at least three floors to itself, and dozens of rooms. He went to a place which the map marked as 'ENGINE ROOM, 2ND FLOOR, and eventually found the starship engine as depicted in the picture Canti gave him.

There was just one problem....

"How in the HELL am I supposed to carry out something that's the size of my ROOM!?!?"

Of course, it was at that moment that he conveniently remembered what Canti told him to do once he had found the thing. _You can pull them through your N.O. channel and send them outside as you go along._

"This thing...you want me to put this thing inside my HEAD!?" he thought aloud as he stared at the gargantuan heap of rectangular metal. He got up closer to the giant metal box. "This is gonna be uncomfortable," he thought, and he focused all of his energy to open the hole in his head and warp the big metal box back outside the plant where he came from. Surprisingly, he didn't break a sweat. Probably because he had transported robots that were the size of buildings from inside the plant before. That was against his will though, of course.

Once he had finished with that task, he was able to cross off that picture from his list. Only one more item that he needed to get. He looked around. He thought that the atmospheric generator would be located inside the Engine Room, but once he learned that this wasn't the case, he ended up searching the entire ship again, only to find that what he was looking for had its own room devoted to it, and he immediately saw why. It looked like a giant serpent, huge wires coiled around what he thought looked like a gian cork-screw.

This corkscrew was the size of the apartment building he lived in. He had no words to describe his disbelief, or how royally pissed he was. Instead, he just kicked his foot into the doorframe, which turned out to be pretty stupid, as it only caused a searing pain to course through his foot. "Aagh! Son of a bitch!" After he finished all of the swear words that immediately came to mind, he finally decided to just grit his teeth and do it. He opened another portal in his head, this one much larger than before, and shoved the thing into it, as though he were forcing a giant amount of solids down a drain.

...Okay, maybe that's a bad analogy.

Regardless, this time it took much more out of Naota-kun then the engine did, and he was wiped out, leaning against the wall. He muttered something about how Canti was probably having an easier time than he was right about now. He pushed off the wall and left the way he came, heading out of the MM plant.

* * * *

When Naota emerged from the plant, he found Canti already there waiting for him. Before Naota could even get a word in, Canti flashed across his screen, _We'll start after you help me install the voice modulator._ Naota nodded. "Fair enough. But why do you need me to install it?" Canti shook his head, _Because I can't literally see inside of my head, dumbass._

Nao-kun said nothing in response to the dumbass remark, but instead just took the object from Canti's hand. Canti opened the grill-panel below the T.V. screen of his face, and held a small flashlight to help Naota peer inside. "Okay, tell me what to do." Canti handed Nao-kun a small screwdriver and flashed the instructions, pointing at the corresponding parts as he showed Naota, who had to turn his head every few minutes to keep up with Canti's typed kanji:

_First, unscrew these two nuts. Good, now put those in your pocket or something, we don't want to lose them. Now, push that panel up and pull it out. Okay, now see those red and blue wires? Take these little cutters and cut those wires. Good, now twist the brass filings on the inside of the wires into coils. I'll deactivate that system so you don't shock yourself. Good. Now twist the ends of those coild onto the four bolts of the device, red meaning positive and blue meaning negative. Now stuff the device in there somewhere. Okay, now put the panel in and and screw the nuts back in. Now push the grill closed and we'll be done._

Once Nao-kun had finished all of the directions Canti had typed out for him, he stepped back, his hands covered with dust and grease. He said, "Does it work? Turn it on!" Some static lines filtered on Canti's blue screen for a few seconds before a surprisingly gruff voice sounded through the speakers on the side of Canti's head. "H...el...o. Hel...lo. Hello. Hello! It worked! It worked! WHOO!!! WE DID IT, NAOTA-KUN!!! WE BLOODY WELL DID IT!!!" With the robot's excited whooping, he gave Naota a bone-crushing bear hug, which Naota didn't recieve without protest.

Once Canti finally put Naota down, Naota said, "Well done, Canti, you have a voice. Congratulations." Canti nodded, "Don't worry, I didn't forget about my end of the deal."

Canti turned towards the supplies they had obtained; the engine, the atmospheric generator, and the nuclear battery. "This is gonna take a lot of work," said Canti. Naota cracked a humorless smile. "Well then, we'd best get started, huh?" And with that simple statement, the duo prepared to make the smallest starship (build for a human-sized creature, anyway) of all time.

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A/N: Yeah, it's short, I know, but it's been so long since I posted something that I at least wanted to assure you guys that I was alive. However, because the first quarter of school will be coming to an end soon, I will be swamped with work and unable to submit anything for the next week or so. But, I'll be sure to have some more stuff up during break. Hope you're all excited.

--Reaper


	4. Important Notice!

A/N: To all interested parties, a word from the Reaper:

Yes, I'm still alive. After my long five-year absence, I have chosen to return to writing. I will post new content under the new pen name, "Corialos." Under that name, not only will I be posting new content, but I will also revising and reposting my old stories, "Demeter: Chronicles of the Sixth Warrior" and "Return of Lost Memories" anew (for more info, check my profile).

Thank you for taking the time to read my work, and I promise I'll have something to show you all by the end of the weekend.

Thank you for your patience and your readership.

-Peace.


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